Fallacies

Question 1

what is a rhetorical ploy?

Answer 1

linguistic device used to appeal to emotion e.g. use of buzzwords, smokescreens. these are not arguments

Question 2

what is a fallacy?

Answer 2

faulty form of argument

Question 3

what is the fallacy affirming the consequent?

Answer 3

If p, then q
q
-
p

just because if p is true then q is true, doesn’t mean q can’t be true without p being true

Question 4

if P then Q
Q
-
P

what fallacy is this? why is it a fallacy?

Answer 4

affirming the consequent

just because if p is true then q is true, doesn’t mean that if q is true, p must be true

Question 5

what is the fallacy of denying the antecedent?

Answer 5

If P, then Q
not P
-
not Q

if you negate p, it does not necessarily follow that you can negate q

Question 6

If P, then Q
not P
-
not Q

what fallacy is this, why is this a fallacy?

Answer 6

denying the antecedent

if you negate p, it does not necessarily follow that you can negate q

Question 7

what is Modus Ponens?

Answer 7

P ) Q
P
-
Q

Question 8

P ) Q 
P
-
Q
identify this argument

Answer 8

modus ponens

Question 9

what is modus tollens?

Answer 9

P ) Q
⍨ Q
-
⍨ P

Question 10

P ) Q
⍨ Q
-
⍨ P 
identify this argument

Answer 10

modus tollens

Question 11

what counter example could be used to demonstrate the flaw in affirming the consequent ?

Answer 11

if it is tuesday, it is not wednesday
it is not wednesday
-
it is tuesday

Question 12

what counter example could be used to demonstrate the flaw in denying the antecedent ?

Answer 12

if it is raining then there are clouds in the sky
it is not raining
-
there are not clouds in the sky

Question 13

what is a base rate fallacy?

Answer 13

failure to consider relative sizes of classes. the minority of one group can be larger than a majority of another

1most rock climbers develop tendonitis  
2only a very small minority of the population develop tendonitis 
3 amy has tendonitis
-
amy is a rockclimber

Question 14

what are substantive fallacies?

Answer 14

problems with content of an argument, typically employing rhetorical devices

Question 15

what is an Ad Hominem fallacy?

Answer 15

when an argument latches onto features of a person rather than content of their argument
usually so we view the person infavourably to make us less likely to accept their view

e.g. Jeremy isn’t even wearing a tie, he isn’t fit to be PM

Question 16

what is an Ad Hominem circumstantial fallacy?

Answer 16

drawing attention to what a person has to gain by stating their argument, rather than the content of their argument, so we view them infavourably to make us less likely to accept their view.

e.g. russell argues god doesn’t exist. but he hated his Christian Grandmother, so he would say that

Question 17

what is the Tu Quoque fallacy?

Answer 17

latches on to perceived hypocrisy to ‘act as one says’ so we infer that their argument is unconvincing

e.g. Diane Abbott’s argument for less private schools is unconvincing as she sends her own son to private school

Question 18

what is the fallacy of majority belief?

Answer 18

trying to persuade someone to accept something by using statements stating how the majority believe it.

e.g. 52% of people thought brexit was the best option for Britain, so we should back it 100% and not campaign for a people’s vote

Question 19

what is the fallacy of common practice?

Answer 19

the practical version of the fallacy of majority belief.
trying to persuade someone to accept something is okay because the majority do it
e.g. all my buddies smoke crack so crack is calm

Question 20

what is the fallacy appeal to authority?

Answer 20

appeal to believe something purely because a figure of authority says it.
e.g. to be gay, you need to be able to do a tongue pop.
why?
josh said

Question 21

what is the fallacy appeal to ignorance?

Answer 21

stating that we cannot prove something as justification for it being false
e.g. we cannot prove God exists, so God does not exist

Question 22

what is the perfectionist fallacy?

Answer 22

appeals to how we cannot achieve perfection, so doing a certain act is pointless
e.g. recycling is hardly going to save the planet so what’s the point?

Question 23

what is the fallacy of conflating morality with legality?

Answer 23

statements that appeal to you enforcing the law based on the idea that what is the law is always moral
e.g. smoking weed is morally corrupt and you shouldn’t do it.
why?
law says

Question 24

what is the fallacy of weak analogy

Answer 24

the fallacy of inferring from the fact that X shares a property or some properties of Y, so X shares all properties of Y.
e.g. we shouldn’t ban guns because knives can also be used if they fall into the wrong hands and can also kill loads of mandem.

Question 25

what can we use to expose the weak analogy?

Answer 25

a countermodel
to expose the invalid nature of weak analogies
e.g. if she loves me she will buy me flowers
she bought me flowers
-
she loves me

EXPOSED 
if she loves me she will not murder me 
she has not murdered me 
- 
she loves me

Question 26

what is the fallacy of equivocation

Answer 26

taking words used in one sense, and interpreting them in another 
e.g. the end of a thing is perfection
death is the end of life 
- 
death is perfection

Question 27

what are causal fallacies?

Answer 27

fallacies with causal mistakes

Question 28

what are the 3 causal fallacies

Answer 28

post hoc ergo propter hoc
mistaking correlation for causation
causal inversion

Question 29

what is the fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc?

Answer 29

justifying not doing an action because the result of other people doing the action, you interpreted as negative.
seems legit in some cases - people that smoke are more likely to get lung cancer, i will not smoke otherwise i will get lung cancer.
but still a fallacy

Question 30

what is the fallacy of mistaking correlation for cause?

Answer 30

stating a causal relation when in fact the relation is a correlation.
e.g. alcoholism is higher in the poor than the rich so alcoholism causes poverty

Question 31

what is the causal inversion fallacy?

Answer 31

essentially, the argument of denying the antecedent but with words
e.g. luckily i gave up smoking, now i won’t get lung cancer

Question 32

what is the falllcy of begging the question?

Answer 32

circular argument.

presupposes the very thing we are trying to establish in the argument.

Question 33

what is the straw man fallacy?

Answer 33

presenting a weaker, incorrect representation of an argument in order to reject it

Question 34

what is the fallacy of false dilemma?

Answer 34

presenting a limited amount of possible answers to a question that may have another answer to force us into an option

Question 35

what is the fallacy of leading question?

Answer 35

only presenting 2 options, both of which are incriminating, to force you to accept an incriminating conclusion, regardless of the fact that their are other options

Question 36

what is the difference between post hoc ergo propter hoc and mistaking correlation for cause fallacy?

Answer 36

in post hoc ergo propter hoc, there is a key time/temporal component, this is not the case in mistaking correlation for cause. - post hoc ergo propter hoc - Y event came later than x, so x caused y compared to mistaking correlation for cause which doesn’t have this element

Question 37

what is the epistemic fallacy?

Answer 37

assuming a leap of knowledge that is not necessarily the case
Issy knows Tara cheated on Joel, as Tara cheated on Joel, Joel is sad, Issy must know Joel is sad
x knows that p, p entails y, so x knows y